Right from the first easy beats of the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer classic, "Accentuate the Positive," arranged by Billy May, the tone is set that this disc will be not only fun but also rewarding.

Vocalist Coleen Pratt has just the right kind of vocal strength in "Accentuate" to growl at the lower registers and glide to the higher ones, a great complement to the big brassy sound of the Empire Jazz Orchestra.

"I thought a lot about the disc title, and wanted to have a positive one," SCCC School of Music Dean William Meckley wrote in a recent email exchange. "Also, I was very happy with the performance on that selection, especially Colleen's great singing. I thought it would be a good opener that would get folks to continue listening."

"The selections were chosen, basically, as representing some of the best live recordings of the band," Meckley said. "I also tried to have a good cross section of the various styles we play, including historically important music like the Mary Lou Williams selections and the Oliver Nelson Sound Piece."

Meckley conducts the Empire Jazz Orchestra, a group that features numerous SCCC music faculty members and alumni, including Brett Wery, Brian Patneaude, Cliff Brucker and Keith Pray (Classs of '93). Of note is that this disc sounds great. It was mixed and mastered by SCCC alumnus and faculty member Sten Isachsen (Class of '89) at Bender Studios in Delmar.

Also of note, and this doesn't have that much to do with the music but it does speak to the care of putting this disc together, is that the graphic design work on the CD cover is excellent. It's hip and lively and does what a group like the Empire Jazz Orchestra does well: not only pay tribute to the past greatness in music, but also to advance for new generations.

"The disc is representative of the level that the EJO is performing at now," Meckley says, "which I believe is fairly high. It is also meant to be part of our 20th anniversary celebration this year."

You can buy the CD for $15 (which includes shipping) with a check or money order payable to "Empire Jazz Orchestra" through the postal service at Empire Jazz Orchestra, Department of Music — SCCC, 78 Washington Ave., Schenectady, NY 12305.

You can hear the Empire Jazz Orchestra perform at its next concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Taylor Auditorium, Begley Building, on the SCCC campus. For more information, call 381-1231 or visit http://www.sunysccc.edu/music/ejo2.html.